Democratic Party Manifesto, 584AER
FALLEENTIUM FORWARD, NOT BACK 'Our case is simple, Falleentium can not afford moving backwards -- we must move forward. Our vision is one of national renewal, a country with drive, purpose and energy. Labour Democrats are a party of ideas and ideals but not of outdated ideology. What counts is what works. The objectives are radical, the means will be modern. For the last decade of being in power with our coalition partners, we have had a record of success. Labour Democrats have overseen the most active governing coalition in this country's history, and have pushed a historic amount of reform through parliament for the betterment of our society. When evil came knocking at our door, LabDems rose to the challenge unlike our contemporaries and led this country succesfully through this war of the world. As we rise from the ashes of conflict, this party shall seek to adapt to the changing needs of the post-war world. Static and stubborn ideologues shall be the undoing of the fabric of this society, and it shall be the refreshing and innovative ideas that shall lead Falleentium with confidence into the next century. As your Chancellor I have given the past 10 years of my career to serve you, the good people of this country. I want to renew our country's faith in the ability of its government and politics to deliver this new Falleentium. I want a Falleentium that is one nation, with shared values and purpose, where merit comes before privilege, run for the many not the few, strong and sure of itself at home and abroad. I want to renew faith in politics through a government that will govern in the interest of the many, the broad majority of people who work hard, play by the rules, pay their dues and feel let down by a political system that gives the breaks to the few, to an elite at the top increasingly out of touch with the rest of us. And I want, above all, to govern in a way that brings our country together, that unites our nation in facing the tough and dangerous challenges of the new economy and changed society in which we must live. I want a Falleentium which we all feel part of, in whose future we all have a stake, in which what I want for my own children I want for yours. -- Imperial Chancellor Willy Brandt EDUCATION A Democratic government would prioritise education above all else. It is our conviction that it is through our youth that we can truly guarantee transformative change for a better future. We pledge to pursue the following changes in the upcoming parliament: * Cut class sizes to 30 or under for 5, 6 and 7 year-olds * Nursery places for all four year-olds * Attack low standards in schools * Lifelong learning through a new University for Industry * More spending on education as the cost of unemployment falls It is not just good for the individual. It is an economic necessity for the nation. We will compete successfully on the basis of quality or not at all. And quality comes from developing the potential of all our people. It is the people who are our greatest natural asset. We will ensure they can fulfil their potential. There are excellent schools in Falleentium's state education system. But far too many children are denied the opportunity to succeed. Our task is to raise the standards of every school. With Democrats in office, the Department for Education will become a leading office of state. It will give a strong and consistent lead to help raise standards in every school. Standards, more than structures, are the key to success. Democrats will never put dogma before children's education. Our approach will be to intervene where there are problems, not where schools are succeeding. We wish to build bridges wherever we can across education divides. The educational apartheid created by the public/private divide diminishes the whole education system and must be ameliorated to guarantee quality education to all regardless of class. There will be education action zones to attack low standards by recruiting the best teachers and head teachers to under-achieving schools; by supporting voluntary mentoring schemes to provide one-to-one support for disadvantaged pupils; and by creating new opportunities for children, after the age of 14, to enhance their studies by acquiring knowledge and experience within industry and commerce. SPENDING AND TAXES Falleentium can do better. We must build on the Falleen qualities of inventiveness, creativity and adaptability. Democrats' objective is to improve living standards for the many, not just the few. Business can and must succeed in raising productivity. This requires a combination of a skilled and educated workforce with investment in the latest technological innovations, as the route to higher wages and employment. We pledge to pursue the following changes in the upcoming parliament: * Economic stability to promote investment * Tough inflation target, mortgage rates as low as possible * Stick for two years within existing spending limits * Four-year pledge: no increase in income tax rates * Early Budget to get people off welfare and into work Democrats are not radical ideologues who believe in the myth that increased spending is the answer to all questions. The level of public spending is no longer the best measure of the effectiveness of government action in the public interest. It is what money is actually spent on that counts more than how much money is spent. Democrats will be wise spenders, not big spenders. We will work in partnership with the private sector to achieve our goals. We will ask about public spending the first question that a manager in any company would ask - can existing resources be used more effectively to meet our priorities? And because efficiency and value for money are central, ministers will be required to save before they spend. Save to invest is our approach, not tax and spend. Taxation is not neutral in the way it raises revenue. How and what governments tax sends clear signals about the economic activities they believe should be encouraged or discouraged, and the values they wish to entrench in society. Just as, for example, work should be encouraged through the tax system, environmental pollution should be discouraged. Democrats will establish a new trust on tax with the Falleen people. The promises we make we will keep. The principles that will underpin our tax policy are clear: 1. To encourage employment opportunities and work incentives for all 2. To promote savings and investment 3. And to be fair and be seen to be fair. To encourage work and reward effort, we are pledged not to raise the basic or top rates of income tax throughout the next Parliament. We also pledge to introduce a fair financial transaction on currency trading as to avoid loopholes in the current system which promote the flight of revenue. ECONOMICS AND TRADE Democrats believe in the importance of business within the fabric of a social market economy. It shall be within this social market economic framework that we shall create the necessary conditions for work. Investment into work creation and productivity shall grow our economy, and the opportunity for individuals, companies and even governments to invest into our economy shall guarantee that we continue to grow for many years. We pledge to pursue the following changes in the upcoming parliament: * Standardising federal securities to allow investment directly into our nation * Backing business: skills, infrastructure, new markets * Gains for consumers with tough competition law * New measures to help small businesses * Guarantee a living wage for all * Streamlining Regional Development Schemes * Seek to establish trade agreements with new partners * Be a strong voice within the Nilira Free Trade Area * Guarantee competitiveness in the market Falleentium can not and should not compete on the world stage as a alow wage economy: thehre is no future to compete with countries paying wages a tenth or a hundredth of Falleen wages. We need to win on higher quality, skill, innovation and reliability. With Democrats, Falleen and inward investors will find this country an attractive and profitable place to do business. Support for small businesses will have a major role in our plans for economic growth. We will cut unnecessary red tape; provide for statutory interest on late payment of debts; improve support for high-tech start-ups; improve the quality and relevance of advice and training for small business owners; and assist firms to enter overseas markets more effectively. Prosperity needs to be built from the bottom up. This is a cornerstone for tackling inequality across our country. Democrats pledge to continue supporting Regional Development schemes to attract investment and jobs into parts of our country that need it the most. As the primary party of the Falleen left, Democrats stress their commitment to worker's rights and standards across all sectors. There must be minimum standards for the individual at work, including a living wage, within a flexible yet robust labour market. We need a sensible balance in industrial relations law - rights and duties go together. We shall continue to support industrial action and the purpose of unions to represent workers as a collective. People should be free to join or not to join a union. Where they do decide to join, and where a majority of the relevant workforce vote in a ballot for the union to represent them, the union should be recognised. PROMOTING EMPLOYMENT * Stop the growth of an 'underclass' in Falleentium * Young people helped towards employment * Tax benefits for employers who create new jobs for the unemployed * Expand the Labour Incentivisation Act to help veterans and reservists to good work There are millions of families that have no one working. There are millions of single mothers who are trapped on benefits. Even with the many efforts of the last government, there still naturally remains a large gap between the rich and poor. We are determined not to continue down the road of a permanent have-not class, unemployed and disaffected from society. Our long-term objective is high and stable levels of employment. This is the true meaning of a stakeholder economy - where everyone has a stake in society and owes responsibilities to it. The Democratic vision is one which relays on the concept of workfarism. The simple concept that if one is able to work -- they should. Democrats are not ignorant to the crudeness of life, how situations are sometimes unpredictable and put us in undesirable situations. However, it is imperative for the health of our economy that we empower people to resume meaningful employment as soon as possible in order to reclaim their dignity and autonomy. As such, Democrats shall pursue an aggressive welfare-to-work scheme which shall seek to drastically cut unemployment. The unemployed have a responsibility to take up the opportunity of training places or work, but these must be real opportunities. Democrats shall reform the welfare system as to facilitate people on benefits to follow a path to meaningful employment once again through direct paid work or training and rehabilitating programs which increase their chances in the labour market. Our welfare-to-work programme will attack unemployment and break the spiral of escalating spending on social security. HEALTHCARE The regrettable state of our health service has left many hardworking people across the country in want and misery. Although established many years ago, it has been criminally neglected by successive corporatist governments which had the interest of the few in mind, not the many. They left a desperate need for new investment and a considerable shortage of staff. Hospital building was virtually neglected for many years, something which we have previously alleviated. Democrats shall invest heavily into the reform and reinvigoration of our National Health Service with the ultimate goal of granting Falleens free healthcare at the point of use. We shall seek to establish an universal, single-payer National Healthcare Scheme which shall socialise healthcare and spread the costs evenly across the Falleen population, granting every citizen access to quality healthcare for free at the point of use and without having to pay outrageous amounts of money for treatment or medicine. We shall also seek to establish a Department of Public Health which shall be tasked with attacking the root causes of ill health, and so improve lives and save our healthcare schemes money. Democrats will set new goals for improving the overall health of the nation which recognise the impact that poverty, poor housing, unemployment and a polluted environment have on health. CRIME AND JUSTICE Democrats propose a new approach to law and order: tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. We insist on individual responsibility for crime, and will attack the causes of crime by our measures to relieve social deprivation. The police have our strong support. They are in the front line of the fight against crime and disorder. We will relieve the police of unnecessary bureaucratic burdens to get more officers back on the beat. We will place a new responsibility on local authorities to develop statutory partnerships to help prevent crime. Local authorities will then be required to set targets for the reduction of crime and disorder in their area. SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES Democrats do not see families and the state as rival providers for the needs of our citizens. Families should provide the day-to-day support for children to be brought up in a stable and loving environment. But families cannot flourish unless government plays its distinctive role: in education; where necessary, in caring for the young; in making adequate provision for illness and old age; in supporting good parenting; and in protecting families from lawlessness and abuse of power. Society, through government, must assist families to achieve collectively what no family can achieve alone. We pledge to you the following: * Help parents balance work and family * Security in housing and help for homeowners * Tackle homelessness and living insecurity * Dignity and security in retirement Most families want to own their own homes. We will also support efficiently run social and private rented sectors offering quality and choice. Our housing strategy will address the needs of homeowners and tenants alike. We will work with mortgage providers to encourage greater provision of more flexible mortgages to protect families in a world of increased job insecurity. Mortgage buyers also require stronger consumer protection, we shall do this by further strengthtening of our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to aid regular people against predatory practices. NILLIRA ALLIANCE The post-Cold War world faces a range of new security challenges - proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the growth of ethnic nationalism and extremism, international terrorism, and crime and drug trafficking. A new Labour government will build a strong defence against these threats. Our security will continue to be based on the Nilira Alliance. Our armed forces are among the most effective in the world. The country takes pride in their professionalism and courage. We will ensure that they remain they most advanced force on the planet to defend our country. But the security of the Empire is best served in a secure world, so we should be willing to contribute to wider international peace and security both through the alliance to which we belong, in particular the NA, and through other international organisations such as the proposed World Union -- a forum of diplomacy for all nations of the world. We support the expansion of the Nillira Alliance to include our dear friends in the Republic of Shiha, and possible to include the new democratic states which may develop in South Shiha, Draaz, Faraal and Jeet. We also support the entry of Jaharnum into the Nilira Alliance. Aside from supporting a Nilira Alliance Judiciary which shall serve as the model for worldwide international law and human rights for all of it's members, we also support establishing a regulatory body for the Nillira Free Trade Area as to guarantee competitiveness and fairness within this huge market. FOREIGN AFFAIRS What WW3 has shown is the power and potential of mankind when it works together. Much like our message of equality, solidarity and unity at home -- the same applies when speaking of international relations. We must work together with our partners across the world, and seek to forge new partnerships beyond our existing ties, to foster an era of cooperation and prosperity in the post-war world. The most efficient way to guarantee peace is to attach prosperity to it for the whole world, to make it unviable for any regime to go rogue and threaten stability. Fair trade between the nations of the world shall launch us into an era of prosperity, peace and an equal understanding of each other's cultures and creeds -- to define what brings us together rather than drives us apart regardless of ideology. Aside from fair trade, the world must have an independent and neutral forum from where the world's issues can be discussed and solved. This World Union (WU), as we described it 7 years ago, is to host all nations of the world to monitor standardised international law that protects sovereignty, territorial integrity and most importantly -- human rights. In that spirit we shall seek a reconciliatory approach with the Red Federation and the Union of the West -- as a peaceful world requires a mutual understanding between our three blocs in order to maintain stability and prosperity. These talks of the elimination of the Red Federation are nothing but detrimental towards our security and must never be allowed to trump the value of diplomacy. Addressing the issue of Faraal's constitutional framework, we believe this is an issue best decided by the democratic will of the Faraalian people. Democrats support any democratic and secular framework of government in Faraal as long as it is decided by popular will -- whether a constitutional monarchy or a republic. HASTIGA AND VELDUNIUM As Democrats, we believe in the necessity and integrity of unadulterated democracy. The democratic progress showed loud and clear what the wish of the Veld and Hastigan people was, and it is important that the will of their people is listened to. Our party shall pursue a good and healthy separation from our friends, one which is equally benefitial to us as to them, as that is in all of our interests. We believe that in accordance with the results of the referendum, the Hastigan and Veld people are to be given full independence from the country, as opposed to the half-way Straits-style dominion system which has been floated by some individuals. We do not believe that this is beneficial to Falleentium for a variety of reasons, but we also do not believe it is beneficial or fair to our friends in Veldunium and Hastiga. They have voted for independence, such was made clear by their vote, but also by the sitting government which had authorised said referendum. A Democratic government would pursue a policy of amiability with our departing friends, most importantly in the field of trade and economic relations. We believe that the least change to economic relations between Falleentium, Hastiga and Veldunium is the most beneficial to our workers, our businesses and economy as a whole. A Labour government would seek a comprehensive trade agreement with the two departing states as to soften up the detrimental economic effects which such a decision shall inevitably bring forth. On the subject of the Jalb minority in western Veldunium, we shall not agree on any exit deal involving Veldunium that doesn't grant the Jalbs an opportunity to express and fulfill their self-determination and popular will. Category:The Imperial Constitution Category:Democratic Unionist Party